A Theme-Based Website, Part 2- Choose A Theme And Sub-TopicsWritten by Julie Georg
In part 1, I said that a theme-based website is a site based on a single theme or concept. Every page of site concentrates on a single topic that is related to theme. Each page delivers great content on it's topic. We know this type of site scores with search engines because it adds value to their search results. It also scores with visitors who are finding valuable information they were looking for. And it scores for merchants you represent because it will deliver ready to buy visitors to their sites. And, of course, you score with big commission checks.I'm ready to build a theme-based site. What do I do first? Choose a theme, of course! For some, this may be very easy. But, some of us might not have slightest idea what we could offer that would be of value to others. Let's brainstorm a bit. Are you an expert in your field with lots of information to share? Do you have a hobby that you're passionate about? A favorite subject you love to read about? Work experience from a current or previous job? Think about your strengths. What do others come to you for? Do you, or could you, offer a service? Ask your friends and relatives. Others may see something that is not so obvious to you. Don't make mistake of thinking your theme must be something "big" and "important". Believe me, many more people are looking for information on "fly fishing" than "rocket science"! Once you have an idea (or two!) for a theme it's time to think about related topics. Remember, your site is going to consist of pages that offer content, each on a specific topic that is related to your theme. Back to example of my "Italian cooking" theme. Possible topics included "Italian chefs", "Italian specialty foods", "Italian cooking methods", Italian cookware", etc. I want as many related topics as I can find. I want to build a substantial site, offering my visitors what they are looking for, lots of valuable content. And lets not forget search engines. I want to be sure their spiders are finding lots of related keywords so that I'm ranked high in their search results. Now, I can come up with some topics off top of my head. But I've only thought of a few, and how do I know if these are topics that people will actually search for on Net? Luckily there are ways to discover both new ideas for topics AND if people are going to find you by searching for them. What I'm going to do is use a "keyword research" tool. These can be found at some of engines like Overture or 7Search. Some pay-per-click advertising providers also have a keyword search tool, like Brainfox and Google's Adwords. If I use SiteBuildIt! to build my site, I have Manager which does all keyword searching and brainstorming for me, as well as showing profitability for each keyword. (You can see screenshots of Manager in action by downloading free SBI! Make Your SitePresell.. http://freetrial.sitesell.com/assist3.html ).
| | A Theme-Based Website, Part 3- Choosing Affiliate ProgramsWritten by Julie Georg
In parts 1 & 2 , I determined that developing a theme-based site is a great way to generate income. It's going to be a WINing situation for search engines, my visitors, my merchants and ME. I've chosen a theme that I know (or can find out about) and love. I've found lots of keywords that are related to my theme and have lots of ideas for good content to offer my visitors. Now I need to find merchants who sell products, programs or services that are appropriate for my site and will fit with my content.Once again, I'm going to look at my list of keywords. Since people are going to use these words to search and I've used them to write my "keyword focused" content for each page of my site... it only makes sense that products and services I want to represent should also be related to these keywords. That will help me to seamlessly recommend product within my content and really use my content to presell. There are several ways to find merchants. Technique 1: I'll do a search on my keywords at several of engines - Google, AltaVista, Overture, or any of others. Then I'll have a quick look at first ten or twenty listings. If I use SiteBuildIt!, Manager will automatically show me ten related sites for each keyword. (You can take quick tour of SBI! at... http://quicktour.sitesell.com/assist3.html ) Wherever you get listings, some will be merchants, while other are content sites. (Of course some are always irrelevant. Lots of room for my theme-based site!) I'm going to take a look at merchants' sites and see if they have something I'd like to offer my visitors and if they have an affiliate program. If so, great. They go on my "keep in mind" merchant list for that keyword. Next I can explore content sites. Maybe I'll find ideas for content, but I'm mainly here to see if THEY link to any merchants. If so, I can click through and see what I find. Can you see beauty of this? I'm going to have content ideas and possible merchants all organized by keyword. That's going to make things pretty easy when I go to build my "keyword focused" pages, no?
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